United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Two Modesto Men Plead Guilty To Conspiring To Steal Copper Wires From The Modesto Airport
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Monday, May 14, 2012 |
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Docket #: 1:12-cr-047-LJO-SKO |
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FRESNO, Calif. — Today Robin Neal Vanderheiden, aka Jeremy Wayne Patrick, 32, and Kody Estepp, 22, both of Modesto, pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal federal property from the Modesto Airport, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on several occasions in January 2012, Vanderheiden and Estepp broke into lighting towers at the Modesto Airport and stole copper wire from the enclosed systems. The copper wire is owned by the Federal Aviation Administration. As part of the conspiracy, the defendants sold the stolen copper wire in return for cash or illegal narcotics.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General and the Modesto Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Grant B. Rabenn is prosecuting the case.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on August 6, 2012 by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. They face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
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